dimanche 13 juillet 2014

Animals that don't Exist

The
Slutterfly

The
slutterfly, Synchlora copula,
is, in fact, not a butterfly, but a moth. Although the phylogeny of
the Lepidoptera is not
without arguments, the difference between moths and butterflies is
generally accepted. Moths are mostly night active (although there are
some exceptions), and their antenna are much more developed than
those of butterflies. So it is, too, with the slutterfly.

The
species is believed to have evolved ten million years ago in tropical
Africa, long before the apparition of modern man. Like most moths,
the pheromones emitted by females attract the males, who can trace
even single particles of a potential sexual partner's scent. But due
to the vast geographical distribution and the number of related
species, the slutterfly has developed a means of reinforcing this
signal beyond what normal moths are capable of.

All
animals, not only moths, use pheromones to convey information to
other members of their species, be it fear, sexual readiness, or
genetic information. Given the less sensitive nature of their sensory
organ when it comes to airborne
particles, most mammals emit a huge amount of pheromones, at least in
comparison with insects. Slutterflies use this to their advantage.

The
female slutterfly lies its eggs in the small of the back of passing
female mammals,
just underneath the skin. These eggs, in turn, hijack the mammals
pheromone-machinery, adding a subtle twist to them, which is
recognized by male slutterflies. The males are attracted by the
scent, and fertilize the eggs. Once said eggs mature, the detach fro
their host, and the muscle movements used during fecal excretion push
them out of the skin, causing them to land in proximity of the dung
that will serve as nourishment for the larva. In case the eggs are
not fertilized within a certain time of their laying, they will
undergo parthenogenesis, and develop all the same, although with
lower genetic variance.

However,
the hijacking of the hormonal machine in its host is not without
consequence. Animals that have been visited by a female slutterfly
have a higher rate of fertility, and
the species has long been considered an omen of good fortune in
African tribes. Young woman would paint them in the small of their
back as a sign of procreative availability. In some tribes, they
mating cycle of the slutterfly would influence that of the tribe
itself. Those woman who had been visited by a slutterfly would be
considered especially valuable for procreation, and only the best
hunters of the tribe where considered for mating by those women.

In
recent years, this ancient sign of fertility has been popularized in
western culture, although the ancestral meaning of fertility and
procreation has been lost. Seen as a pure symbol of sexual
availability, the slutterfly tattoo has given its vernacular name to
Synchloracopula
in a strange twist of anachronic irony. And what once was a symbol of
family and high standing within society, has now become a means to
indicate absence of procreation and easy pickings for sexual
intercourse.